We should look into the requests made by each of these communities, research their history, send Rabbis over there to learn about their communities, take some sample genetic tests from the males claiming to be Kohanim - and if we find sufficient reason to believe that they are truly Jews, I see no reason why they should be denied entrance to the Jewish state, and recognition of their Jewishness.

Although I don't believe anything at all about "lost tribes", sincere converts should not be turned away. Cases should be examined carefully & if it is not purely an economic motive, candidates should be accepted if they complete a rigourous course of study. At the same time, those who seek a ficticious Jewish ancestry but who do not seek to convert should be refused. This is a complicated & difficult issue that requires much debate but should not be left up to bureaucrats of the Misrad HaPnim who often have political motives for their decisions. Nor should it be left in the hands of Haredi groups who operate like Christian missionaries. We lose thousands of Jews to intermarriage & assimilation because we have few programs that reach out to the children of mixed couples. The conversion process itself is often far too onerous for many - even the most sincere. We are often hypocritical when it comes to converts, expecting far more than we expect from ourselves. Because we are both a religion & a people, the issue is complicated. It is further complicated because we now have political sovereignty in the State of Israel. Policies should reflect the long-term well-being of the Jewish people as a whole as well as the future well-being of the State.

i trace my roots back to the tribe of Yegoydah.

After Nativ's horrific blunder with the ex-Soviets, tt would be a joy to bring folks here who actually further the dream of Israel. Concerned? Have them genetically tested, and bring the true Jews back to be integrated as PRODUCTIVE members of society, not sit on their perfectly capable tushes in a yeshiva.

Who are here to preach their fake Judaism . Look at those who write "one god , one love" and who are always talking about this "jossele" they believe in .

Nowhere In any event, if rabanut considers these en masse convertions, let them stay in their own countries for a whole generation and see how honest they are about being Jewish.

demographers are from Keturah and Abraham, such as the former Raja's of India who trace their lineage to Keturah and Abraham. The ten lost tribes that were taken captive by Assyria escaped across the Caucasus Mountains into Russia and Europe where traces of the tribes can be found...DANube River, DANmark, SweDAN, etc. for the tribe of Dan. The book "Judah's Scepter and " is a good reference book on the tribes and where they went and became. Joseph's descendants became the nations of Manasseh (USA) and Ephraim (British Commonwealth) whose Great Seals are half Egyptian, as were Manasseh and Ephraim. Manasseh was told by his grandfather Jacob he would become a great nation (USA). Ephraim was told he would become a multitude of nations with the gates of their enemies (British Commonwealth).

If they are sincere, they won't mind having to convert. We need all the people we can get! That'll defuse the 'demographic bomb' of the Arabs!!

Historically, the people of Israel are much older than “Jews”, descendants of the kingdom of Judah who follow the religion of YHVH. I think that Israel should go back to the older definition. Let those who want to be loyal citizens of Israel and dedicate their lives to the betterment of the country and its people be welcome. The majority of Israelis do not practice the religion of YHVH although they are nominally part of it. The orthodox establishment in Israel are fossils of the least creative period in Jewish history, eastern Europe before the enlightenment. They are almost victims of the “Stockholm syndrome”. Let Israel strive to be a “light unto the nations” which requires the best and brightest from all the world. This is an ideal worthy of our history.

R*becca, enough of your replacement theology. We know who is Jewish and who is not. Goyim are not! End of story. We don't care to listen to your goyim lies of the roman pagans. Mithraism is what you follow period. I refer you to your book that has been redacted 1000's of times. Don't ever think for one second that Esav know's what's going on. It doesn't, thats EMET! Go preach in the galut to your other followers of the great lie of Esav!

There are MILLIONS out there, maybe as many as 10 million. The Rabinnate need a way to verify their Judaism's and educate with Halacha. This would bring more Jews home to Judaism, some back to Eretz Yisrael, some staying in the Disapora. Why is PM Olmert so eager to make a fake peace agreement with the PA? Eventually there would only be 2 states, Israel and Jordan Palestine, not 3. There is no reason to create another Arab Palestinian state. Its inevitable. Stop trying to change it.

So they were correct all the time. The Jews actually do control the whole world. Wow, I really do feel good today.

THANK YOU DACON9

Well, I belong to one of the Confused Tribes. To Hitler I was a Mischling zweiten Grades, which finally earned a free and probably permanent vacation at that fine, Bavarian resort called "Dachau." (They had run out of time and trains for Auschwitz and Theresienstadt.) Since that must have sounded like a consolation prize of some sort, our Mom wanted no part of it. She refused to hang around and wait for the trip to the induction ceremony. Instead, she took us on a grand tour of convents, refugee hide-outs and caves with all the culinary delights inherent in such an adventure. To Jews, I'm just a shiksah. I did, however, earn my way and was solemnly inducted into the great American tribe of Hodgepodge of which I am a proud, tax-paying, flag-waving, anthem-singing member in very good standing, with a certificate - properly framed - to prove it. (Dang, I was cute back then!) There's no doubt in my mind that my DNA would top that of a lot of immigrants to Israel with respect to Jewish, but hey, you do the best with what you're handed. Besides, as an Israeli I'd probably be such a rabid, right-wing, Zionists rebel rouser, I'd only end up in jail.

You obviously know nothing about modern scholarship. Keep believing the bubbe maisses of the rabbis and call your betters ignoramuses. Go back to Chelm.

They should be allowed back and return to their home country first. The historic population of Palestine is more accurately represented among the native Palestinians irrespective of their religion. If you want to find the lost tribes, look at the natives!

All this Jewish rhetoric about who is and who isn’t sounds like the “lebensborn” project. Knowing that many descendants of the European jews are coming from Cossaks rapes or even coming from the converted Kuzarim. Who can decide who a Jew is? Is my “red neck” looking son less Jew than a long nose and bearded one? Judaism doesn’t run in the blood, it is in the soul. So let them come.

Converts usually provide an injection of commitment and passion that born jews, particularly apathetic Israeli's usually do not have towards judaism. It would revitalize the nation were thousands of migrants from India and Brazil immigrate to Israel a year for conversion - not to mention those 2 countries are the 2 economic giants of the future. Having a large diaspora there would be as beneficial to Am Israel as the US one is to Israel today.

Dacon - prove to us how Sidney is wrong, and since no names of tribes were given, how these are for certain above-and-beyond the 12 known. Good luck, since most of the information out there is on our side.

Wow # 4, a well thought out and reasoned talkback. A breath of fresh air.

Today there are DNA tests to show if a person has "Jewish" genes or not. The problem is that several of these neo nazi Russian youth have a Jewish grandparent or great-grandparent. So, now what do you do?

The more immigrants who adhere to Judaism the better.Once in Israel if their origins in doubt,let Rabbonim officially convert them

When Jews were driven out of the Land, according to Hashem's degree, they did not go far. They were in Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Turkey, Cyprus, Greece and Rome. Many of the countries you described were unheard of during that time, and many of the European Jews, who showed up much later in those areas, were converts and not genetic descendants of Abraham.